Chair accessory and method of using

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a chair accessory comprising one or more board-like items, including planks, of various thicknesses having on or in each item at least one restraining device having one or more chair-leg contacting surfaces that will prevent a child, while sitting in the chair, from moving the board-like item out of its functional place with his feet. The chair accessory is used with a chair including a child&#39;s chair to provide a foot rest when the chair occupant&#39;s legs are too short to allow the occupant&#39;s feet to reach the floor to provide stability necessary to permit more advanced fine motor development.

This invention involves an accessory for a chair and more particularlyan accessory that accommodates the length of different peoples's legs,and a method of using the accessory to allow people's feet to rest on arelatively firm surface while sitting in a chair that normally does notso allow.

BACKGROUND

Child's chairs are used in various places, but mostly in various kindsof schools, day care centers and libraries. Child's chairs come in onlya few sizes and as a result, often the child's feet don't reach thefloor when sitting in a child's chair, an undesirable handicap forchildren using or working on their motor skills while sitting in thechair and particularly for handicapped children. Chairs with adjustablelegs are known, as evidenced by Published U.S. Patent Application20040041453, but such chairs are complex and more expensive andtherefore are not readily available. Almost all of the child's chairs inexistence are of a non-adjustable kind.

Footstools and items like books can be used, but are expensive or thewrong height and in any case quickly get moved out of a useful locationby the child. Similar needs exist in rehabilitation centers, nursinghomes, etc. for both children and adults. What has long been needed, andis satisfied by the invention, is a simple, relatively inexpensive, easyto use product to satisfy this long felt need and that is provided bythe invention disclosed herein.

SUMMARY

The invention comprises one or more board-like items including plankitems of various thicknesses having on or in each item at least onedevice having one or more chair-leg contacting surfaces that willprevent a child, while sitting in the chair, from moving the board-likeitem out of its functional place with his feet. The board-like item canbe like a plank or can be of any reasonable shape like a semicircleshaped, oval shaped, diamond shaped, or other shapes. For purposes ofillustration of the invention in the figures, plank shapes are used. Therestraining devices can have one or more chair-leg contacting surfacesthat can include one or more openings in end portions of the plank itemsuch as a hole, of any reasonable shape, or a slot of various shapes inone or both end portions of the plank item, or can be at least onedevice that is attached to an end portion the board-like item, or stillfurther, can be a clamp that slips over a chair leg or attaches to theleg and clamps onto the board-like item, multiples of these or anycombination thereof.

The board-like item restraining device mentioned above can be of anykind that when attached to the board-like item either attaches to thechair leg or surrounds enough of the chair leg that a portion of thefixture will contact the chair leg and prevent movement of theboard-like item out of its functional location when the child attemptsto move the board-like item out of place. More typically, one of theabove-described devices will be located in, on or near each end or endportion of the board-like plank. By “end portion of the board-like item”is meant a portion at the end of a board-like item and having enoughlength to make or install the restraining device, usually no more thanabout one-third the length of the board-like item and more typically nomore than one-quarter the length of the board-like item and it can be aslittle as about one-quarter inch.

The legs of a child's chair are spaced apart a distance that istypically in the range of about 10-16 inches and this spacing willnormally increase for an adolescent to an adult chair to a spacing of upto about 36 inches. It is most desired to have the board-like item orplank contact the front legs of the chair to restrain the plank, but itis also possible to construct the invention to contact one or both ofthe back legs of the chair, with or without contacting one or both frontlegs of the chair, but to do so is an inefficient use of material andadds to the weight of the plank.

Two or more planks can be used together, one on top of the other, toprovide a footrest of proper height. It is often desirable to use acushioning material or elastomeric material on the chair leg contactingsurface of the devices so minimal noise will be caused when the childmoves the board-like item to cause the chair leg contacting surfaces tostrike the chair legs.

The board-like items, including planks, when in operating positioneither have their bottom surfaces resting on the floor or on the topsurface of another board-like item. The board-like restraining devicesneed not contact the chair legs except when the person sitting in thechair moves the board-like item sufficiently to bring a surface of therestraining device into contact with one or more chair legs. Therestraining device can also clamp to a chair leg if desired by usingappropriate clamps that are conventional at the time of use, includingspring loaded clamps, bolt adjustable clamps, compressible materialbiased clamps and equivalent clamps.

To use the invention, one or more of the board-like items are affixed tothe front chair legs, often simply by lifting the front of the chair andsetting the front legs into the devices including openings in theboard-like items, or in the fixtures, or by moving the fixtures so thata part of each fixture surrounds a portion of a front leg. Onembodiments wherein the fixtures are attached to the front legs of thechair, it is merely necessary to slip each end of the board-like iteminto a clamp or other plank holding member on the fixture including ajigsaw-puzzle type fixture.

When the word “about” is used herein it is meant that the amount orcondition it modifies can vary some beyond that stated so long as theadvantages of the invention are realized. Practically, there is rarelythe time or resources available to very precisely determine the limitsof all the parameters of ones invention because to so do would requirean effort far greater than can be justified at the time the invention isbeing developed to a commercial reality. The skilled artisan understandsthis and expects that the disclosed results of the invention mightextend, at least somewhat, beyond one or more of the limits disclosed.Later, having the benefit of the inventors disclosure and understandingthe inventive concept, the objectives of the invention and embodimentsdisclosed, including the best mode known to the inventor, the inventorand others can, without inventive effort, explore beyond the limitsdisclosed using only ordinary skill to determine if the invention isrealized beyond those limits, and when embodiments are found to bewithout any unexpected characteristics, those embodiments are within themeaning of term about as used herein. It is not difficult for theartisan or others to determine whether such an embodiment is either asexpected or, because of either a break in the continuity of results orone or more features that are significantly better than reported by theinventor, is surprising and thus an unobvious teaching leading to afurther advance in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the invention and alsoshowing several optional modifications.

FIG. 1A is a partial front view of the embodiment(s) shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1B is a partial front view of a another embodiment, and also shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 1C is a plan view of a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 1D is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1C.

FIG. 1E is a partial front view of still another modification andembodiment similar to, but different than the embodiment shown in FIG.1D.

FIG. 1F is a front view of still another modification of the embodimentshown in FIG. 1 and showing a stacked arrangement.

FIG. 1G is a front view of still another embodiment, a modification ofthe embodiment shown in FIG. 1F.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of still another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3A is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3B is a plan view of an embodiment that is a modification of theembodiment shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of other embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4A is a front view of one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of still another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of yet another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a partial plan view of still another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7A is a partial front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7B is a front view of the device shown in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8 is a partial plan view of still another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 8A is a partial front view of another embodiment that is amodification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, but a stack of twoin place on the front legs of a chair.

FIG. 9A is a plan view of the assembly shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 is a partial plan view of still another embodiment of theinvention wherein the fixture has a jigsaw-puzzle type, locking feature.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a partial plan view of one embodiment of the invention foruse with a chair, and some optional modifications. This basic embodimentis a board-like item such as a plank 2 having a thickness in the rangeof about ⅛^(th) inch to about 4 inches or more, and having an opening4,5 through, each end portion of the plank 2 near each end of the plank,in this embodiment a round hole 4,5. A typical plank 2 has a thicknessof ¼ inch, or increments thereof including ½, ¾, 1, 1.5, 2, 3 and 4inches or more thick or any intermediate thickness between theseexamples.

The plank 2 has a length long enough to place the openings 4,5 at thelocation of the front legs of the chair on which the invention is beingused. A greater length can be used but it is only a waste of materialwithout adding any offsetting benefit. In other embodiments that will bedescribed later, the plank 2 can be shorter than the distance betweenthe front legs of the chair. The corners 6 of the ends 7 of the plankcan be square, tapered, or radiused as shown by the dotted lines in FIG.1, the radiused ends being more costly, but also more child friendly.The shape of the openings 4,5 can be round as shown, or square, oval orof any shape so long each opening 4,5 will accommodate the bottomportion of a front leg of the chair. The openings 4,5 are spaced apartto match up with the front legs of the child chairs that the inventionwill be used on.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the openings 4,5 can be optionally lined with anelastomer or most any cushiony material including a layer 11, usuallythin to economize, of foam, nonwoven material, quilted material, and thelike to dampen noise. As shown in FIG. 1B, the openings 4,5 need notextend entirely through the thickness of the plank 2, particularly whenthe thickness of the plank 2 is about ¼ inch or thicker, but can be ahole 4 a, 5 a (not shown) on the opposite end portion, extending partway through the plank 2. As shown in FIGS. 1C, 1D and 1E, the plank 2can also have one or a plurality of holes 13, or one or more depressions15, or one or more voids 17, all to reduce the weight of the plank 2 andto minimize the amount of material required. The planks 2 can beconfigured in any combination of these variations in any of theembodiments of the invention to save costs, and/or in many instances toreduce weight, or merely as a matter of preference.

Two or more planks 2 of the same or different thicknesses can bestacked, as shown in FIGS. 1F, 1G, 9 and 9A, to achieve the properheight. As shown in FIG. 1F, the plank 2 can have one or moreprojections 19 on at least one of the major surfaces that align withdepressions 20 in a major surface of another plank 2F so that when twoor more planks 2, 2F, etc. are stacked on one another, the projections19 fitting into the depressions 20 tend to keep the planks 2 and 2F fromsliding apart. The projections 19 can be ridges and the depressions 20can be troughs as shown, but they can be any shape so long as theprojections and depressions are compatible to nest together, e. g.dimple shaped projections can be used with troughs, but better withmirror image depressions of the dimples. On chairs having front legs 3that taper towards the back of the chair, each additional plank 2 may beoffset a small distance from the plank 2 beneath it, but the width ofthe planks 2 are sufficient to make sure that will not affect the childsitting in the chair. The width of the planks 2, distance from front toback, can be any reasonable desired width and are usually from about 4inches to about 12 inches wide. Greater widths can be used, but it is awaste of material because it is unnecessary. While the openings 4,5shown in FIGS. 1, 1C, 2, 3 and 9A are generally in the center, front toback, they need not be and actually will most often be offset, such asshown in FIG. 3B. By offsetting the openings in the plank 2 for thefront legs of the chair towards the rear of the chair, more of the plank2 is in the location needed for the children's feet.

On some chairs the front legs taper toward the center and may also tapertowards the back of the chair as one moves up the legs. To accommodatethis type of chair, when the devices are openings, they can be largerthan needed for the size of the leg and/or can be oval, see openings 8,9in FIGS. 2 and 2A, to accommodate different spacings between the frontlegs of the chair, at different heights, of the front legs, above thebottom of the legs. This allows the planks 2 to be stacked to match theneed of the child that will be sitting in the chair. The openings 4,5 or8,9, etc. can be lined with a layer of sound absorbing, soft or cushionymaterial 11 to prevent or reduce noise should the child move the plank 2back and forth with their feet to strike the front leg(s) of the chair.

The device attached to, or part of, the plank and having a chair legcontacting surface, plank restraining device, can optionally be openingsin the plank 2 that are open at one or two of the ends 7 as shown inFIGS. 3 and 3A. When used herein, the term “cut-out” means an opening atthe ends of the plank 2 regardless of the shape of the opening(s). Inthis embodiment the openings 12,13 are V or U shaped, but can be othershapes that will restrain the plank in position between the chair legsincluding V shaped, square shaped, rectangular shaped, triangularshaped, etc. The embodiments shown by FIGS. 3 and 3A, and those havingmodified shapes of the openings, are thought to be the least costly tomake and the easiest to use. FIG. 3B shows one of many most desirableshapes of the plank 2, and having U shaped “cut-outs” 12, optionallywith a soft or resilient lining 11.

As shown in FIGS. 4-8A, the plank 2 need not have openings forcontacting the front legs of the chair. Instead, a (board-like), plankrestraining device can be attached to at least one end or end portion ofthe plank 2, more typically to each end or end portion, to keep theplank 2 in place at the chair. In FIG. 4 an eye bolt 22 can be attached,such as being screwed into the ends of the plank 2 with the opening 24in the eye bolt 22 being large enough for a bottom portion of thechair's front legs to pass through. As shown in FIG. 4A, the opening 24,like the opening 4 a in FIG. 1B, need not extend entirely through theeye bolt 22, see optional portion 23. As shown on the opposite end ofthe plank 2 in FIG. 4, the plank restraining device can also be variousother configurations including a hook 26.

FIG. 5 shows a U shaped plank restraining device 27 like, or similar, tothe tool holding devices readily in any hardware or building supplystore. FIG. 6 shows an end of a plank 2 having a plank restrainingdevice 28 attached to a major surface of an end portion of the plank 2.A bracket 29 of the plank restraining device 28 holds a U shaped plankrestraining member 30 that can be pivoted at the bracket 28 to move theplank restraining member 30 into and out of a plank restraining positionon a front chair leg. If desired, an appropriate portion of the majorsurface of the plank 2 opposite the major surface holding the plankrestraining device 28 can be depressed or relieved to nest a similar orlike plank restraining device 28 on a different plank 2 so that two ormore planks 2, each having a leg restraining device 28 on each endportion, can be stacked securely for use or storage.

FIG. 7 shows a different plank restraining device 32 attached to a majorsurface of an end portion of the plank 2. A holder 33 of the plankrestraining device 32, slidingly fastened to a rod 34, holds a U shapedplank restraining member 36, so it can be pivoted at the holder 33, thatis attached by a spot weld or other means to a ring surrounding the rod34, to move the plank restraining member 36 into and out of a plankrestraining position on a front chair leg. The rod 34 is held in placeat each end portion with a bracket 38 attached to an end portion of amajor surface of the plank 2. Again, if desired, an appropriate portionof the major surface of the plank 2 opposite the major surface holdingthe plank restraining device 32 can be depressed or relieved to nest asimilar or like plank restraining device 28 on a different plank 2 sothat two or more planks 2, each having a leg restraining device 28 oneach end portion, can be

FIG. 8 is a partial front view showing another embodiment of theinvention. This embodiment comprises a plank 2 and a plank restrainingdevice, a plank holder 40. The plank holder 40 comprises a spring clamp42 to hold the plank 2 and a restraining member 44 attached in anysuitable manner, or .integral with, the clamp 42. The clamp 42 can beany type of clamp that will grip an end portion of the plank 2, springgripping of the plank 2, pinned, screwed or otherwise attached to theplank 2. The spring clamp 42 illustrated is a U shaped metal or plasticdevice having an upper engaging member 46 and a lower engaging member 48that are joined together with a biasing section 50 that biases the uppermember 46 and the lower member 48 towards one another. This bias causesthe engaging members 46,48 to grip two surfaces of end portion of theplank 2 after being forced apart to allow an end of the plank to beinserted into the clamp 42. The restraining member 44 can be shapedlike, or similar to, the restraining members 26, 27, 28 and 36 shown inearlier embodiments. Shown in the embodiment of FIG. 8 is a hook 44, orwith the optional portion 52, can be all or part of an eye bolt.

FIG. 8 A shows a modification of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, aspring clamp 40′ comprised of similar parts, but sized to grip differentsurfaces of the end portions of plank 2, i. e. the major surfaces. Thechair leg contacting portions of the plank restraining devices shown inFIGS. 4-8 can be can be coated with an elastomer or other cushioningmaterial to reduce noise if desired.

FIG. 10 shows another type of embodiment that can include manyconfigurations. In this embodiment the plank 2 is shorter and one orboth end portions of the plank 2 are configured to accept a mirror imageconfiguration in a restraining device to form a locking arrangement muchlike a jigsaw puzzle. In this embodiment, FIG. 9, a restraining device50 having a hole 45 for surrounding a leg of the chair and a configuredend 52 for locking into the end portion of the board-like item, plank 2.The board-like item or plank restraining device 50 can attach to thechair leg in any suitable way including the many ways disclosed herein.Another kind of board-like item restraining device can be used on theother end of the plank 2 or the same kind as described above can beused.

The length of the board-like items, including the planks 2, can be up toa few inches, 3-6 or more longer than the distance between the frontlegs of the chair. They can be longer but to no good purpose and at acost disadvantage. The length can be as little as about 6 inches or so,but more typically is from about 6-9 inches to about ¼-3 inches greaterthan the spacing between the far sides of the legs of the chair. Thewidth, depth, of the plank 2 is typically about 6-12 inches. This widthcan extend the entire length, but need be this magnitude only in thearea of where the feet will normally be such as +/− about 2-5 or 6inches from the lengthwise centerline of the board-like item or plank.It is desirable that the plank extend behind the front edge of the frontlegs of the chair about 2-4 inches or so in the area where the feet willnormally be to prevent children from getting the toes of their shoescaught on the back of the plank 2, but this is not essential to theinvention. It is also desirable that the plank extend about 4-7 inchesor more in front of the front of the front legs over either the entirelength of the plank 2 or more typically about 2-5 or 6 inches on eitherside of the lengthwise centerline of the plank 2 to give the children agood platform for their feet. The thickness of the board-like items suchas plank 2 is optional and typical dimensions are provided above. Thethickness of the board-like item or plank 2 can vary over the area ofthe board-like item or plank 2. For example, the portions out of thenormal reach of the feet can be thinner or thicker than the portionintended for foot contact.

The board-like items, including the planks 2, can be made from anysuitable material including, but not limited to, all kinds of woods,wood products including particle board, chip board, OSB, plywood, etc.,all kinds of plastics, solid and hollow, rigid and flexible foams withor without skins of the same or different material, laminates of anycombination of materials named here, metals, stamped sheet metals orplastics, cork, ceramic tile, stone, composites of all types,paperboard, fibrous boards, etc. and equivalent products. It isdesirable to paint or color the board-like items in conventional waysand also to optionally color code different thicknesses to aid thoseusing the chair accessories of the invention. It is also to beunderstood that the invention includes board like items having one kindof plank restraining device disclosed, or equivalent, on one end of theboard-like item while a different kind of plank restraining device is onthe other end of the board-like item.

The invention has been described using a child's chair for illustrationbut it should be understood that the invention is applicable to all ormost types of chairs. Many embodiments, options and modifications havebeen disclosed and it is to be understood that all reasonablecombinations of these options and different embodiments andmodifications are intended to be included in the invention described inthe claims below. Different embodiments employing the concept andteachings of the invention will be apparent and obvious to those ofordinary skill in this art and these embodiments are likewise intendedto be within the scope of the claims. The inventor does not intend toabandon any disclosed inventions that are reasonably disclosed but donot appear to be literally claimed below, but rather intends thoseembodiments to be included in the broad claims either literally or asequivalents to the embodiments that are literally included.

1. An accessory for a chair having two or more front legs comprising aboard-like item having two end portions and a thickness of at leastabout ⅛ inch and having on at least one end or on one or more endportions of the board-like item a board-like item restraining device,each board-like item restraining device functioning to restrain theamount of the board-like item's movement with respect to at least one ofthe front legs of the chair.
 2. The chair accessory of claim 1 whereinthe board-like item is a plank having a thickness of at least ¼ inch andwherein each board-like item restraining device is a plank restrainingdevice.
 3. The chair accessory of claim 1 wherein there are twoboard-like item restraining devices, each being a depression, hole orslot in a major surface of an end portion of the board-like item, thetwo item restraining devices being spaced apart to align with thebottoms of the front legs of the chair.
 4. The chair accessory of claim3 wherein at least one depression is a hole that passes only part waythrough the thickness of the board-like item.
 5. The chair accessory ofclaim 3 wherein at least one depression is a hole that passes entirelythrough the thickness of the board-like item.
 6. The chair accessory ofclaim 5 wherein at least one of the holes is lined with a layer of anoise reducing material.
 7. The chair accessory of claim 1 wherein theboard-like restraining device is a “cut-out” in at least one end of saiditem.
 8. The chair accessory of claim 7 wherein the shape of the“cut-out” is selected from a group consisting of U shaped, V shaped,square shaped, rectangular shaped, half of a hexagon, and semi-circularshaped.
 9. The chair accessory of claim 7 wherein the “cut-out” isthrough the entire thickness of the board-like item.
 10. The chairaccessory of claim 8 wherein the “cut-out” is through the entirethickness of the board-like item.
 11. The chair accessory of claim 1wherein at least one of the board-like item restraining devices isselected from a group consisting of a depression, a hole, a slot, ahook, an eye bolt, an eye screw, a pivoting U shaped holder, a pivotingV shaped holder, a U shaped holder, a V shaped holder, an adjustable Ushaped holder, an adjustable V shaped holder, a pivoting adjustable Ushaped holder, and a pivoting adjustable V shaped holder.
 12. The chairaccessory of claim 1 wherein the board-like item is color-codedaccording to the thickness.
 13. The chair accessory of claim 1 whereinthe board-like item contains at least one of a hole, a depression, atrough, a dimple, or a void to either reduce the weight of theboard-like item or to facilitate stacking of two or more board-likeitems or both.
 14. The chair accessory of claim 2 wherein there are twoplank item restraining devices, each being a depression in a majorsurface of an end portion of the plank, the two depressions being spacedapart to align with the bottoms of the front legs of the chair.
 15. Thechair accessory of claim 14 wherein at least one depression is a holethat passes only part way through the thickness of the plank.
 16. Thechair accessory of claim 14 wherein at least one depression is a holethat passes entirely through the thickness of the plank.
 17. The chairaccessory of claim 16 wherein at least one of the holes is lined with alayer of a noise reducing material.
 18. The chair accessory of claim 2wherein the plank restraining device is a “cut-out” in at least one endportion of the plank.
 19. The chair accessory of claim 18 wherein theshape of the “cut-out” is selected from a group consisting of U shaped,V shaped, square shaped, rectangular shaped, half of a hexagon, andsemi-circular shaped.
 20. The chair accessory of claim 18 wherein the“cut-out” is through the entire thickness of the plank.
 21. The chairaccessory of claim 2 wherein at least one of the plank restrainingdevices is selected from a group consisting of a depression, a hole, aslot, a hook, an eye bolt, an eye screw, a pivoting U shaped holder, apivoting V shaped holder, a U shaped holder, a V shaped holder, anadjustable U shaped holder, an adjustable V shaped holder, a pivotingadjustable U shaped holder, and a pivoting adjustable V shaped holder.22. The chair accessory of claim 2 wherein the plank is color-codedaccording to the thickness.
 23. The chair accessory of claim 2 whereinthe plank contains at least one of a hole, a depression, a trough, adimple, or a void to either reduce the weight of the plank or tofacilitate stacking of two or more planks or both.
 24. An accessory fora child's chair having two or more front legs, the accessory comprisinga board-like item having two end portions and a thickness of at leastabout ¼ inch and having at each end or on each end portion of theboard-like item a board-like item restraining device, each board-likeitem restraining device surrounding at least a portion of one of thefront legs of the chair and functioning to restrain the amount of theboard-like item's movement with respect to the front legs of the chair,each board-like item having a bottom surface resting on either a flooror on another board-like item when in operating position.
 25. A methodof stabilizing a person sitting in a chair having legs so long that theperson's foot or feet do not reach the floor in a stable mannercomprising using an accessory comprising one or more board-like items,each having two end portions and a thickness of at least about ⅛ inchand having at, or on, each end portion of the board-like item aboard-like item restraining device, each board-like item restrainingdevice functioning to restrain the amount of the board-like item'smovement with respect to the front legs of the chair, placing one ormore of said items on the front legs of the chair, in a stackedrelationship when two or more of said items are required, to permit theperson sitting in the chair to place at least one foot flat on the uppersurface of the uppermost said item.